Maryland Public Ethics Law - State Officials of and Candidates to be State Officials of the Judicial Branch - Conflicts of Interest and Financial Disclosure Statements

HB 166 updates Maryland's ethics law to require judicial bodies - not the State Ethics Commission - to manage financial disclosures for judicial officials and candidates. Specifically, it shifts responsibility from the Ethics Commission to the Commission on Judicial Disabilities or Judicial Ethics Committee for maintaining and publicly posting financial records of judicial candidates and officials. The bill repeals the existing requirement that the Supreme Court send these disclosures to the Ethics Commission and mandates that judicial bodies make all required statements available for public inspection. This change ensures judicial candidates and officials file disclosures directly with the judicial branch, with records maintained and accessible through those channels instead of the Ethics Commission. The law applies to all candidates running for judicial office and current judicial branch officials.